Taking on teams with bigger enrollments has not been a problem for the Dedham baseball team this year. The Marauders are 2-1 against Bay State Conference Carey Division teams after holding off Needham, 6-4, at Memorial Park on Monday.

Sophomore Matt Maloney took a no-hitter into the eighth before he and the defense became unraveled. Maloney surrendered four unearned runs in the frame as the 6-0 lead was whittled to 6-4. He ended up allowing two hits and two walks while fanning eight over 7 2/3 innings.

Kasey Kirby came on with two outs and the tying run at the plate and got his man to fly out, preserving the two-run lead. He then completed the four-out save by getting a fly ball to center with the bases loaded as Dedham evened its record at 6-6 overall and 2-6 in the BSC, though for the official league standings the Marauders are 2-8 after opting out of games against Braintree and Newton North.

Having a .500 record in May has built a bit of confidence not seen in recent years and has the Marauders eyeing a possible 10-win season.

"If we keep playing like we're playing, tighten up defensively a bit, and keep working hard in practice, and they have been. I have no doubt they can," Marauders co-coach Dave Kiser. "I think we have a fair shot of getting to 10 wins. We have a tough road to do it, but I think we have a shot."

Dedham went 0-5 the first time through the Herget Division, letting leads against Norwood and Walpole slip away during that stretch. The lone crossover left on the schedule is Friday's trip to Weymouth, while there are nonleague games against Medway and Canton, a Division 2 team which uses Dedham as a Sullivan Rule opponent.

Liam Madden went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a triple and scored two runs, but needed to be lifted in the eighth with an apparent hamstring injury, according to Kiser. Matt Kelly was 3-for-3 with a pair of runs.

Ronny Pucci gave Dedham a 1-0 lead in the second inning with an RBI single and Jack Powers made it 2-0 drawing a bases-loaded walk.

The Marauders added a run in the third and two more in the fifth before Madden tripled in the sixth and scored on a base hit by Maloney for a 6-0 lead heading into the late innings.

The Marauders secured their spot in the MIAA Division 3 South sectional tournament by the Sullivan Rule by routing Madison Park, 16-1, in five innings on Friday afternoon. The win gave Dedham a 2-0 mark against Div. 3 and 4 opponents with one game remaining (Medway). It also has a 2-0 record against Division 2 squads having picked up nonleague victories over Canton and North Andover.

Maloney needed less than 50 pitches to throw four scoreless innings against the Cardinals. He allowed two hits and one walk while helping himself at the plate by going 4-for-4 with four RBI.

Page 2 of 2 - Dedham scored one in the first, four in the second, two in the third and nine in the fourth, with all nine lineup positions scoring in the inning.

Pucci was 2-for-3, scored twice and drove in three, Anthony Gilarde had two hits and scored twice and Powers drove in three.

The game against Madison Park was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but pushed back by rain and Dedham elected to play two Friday, keeping the regularly scheduled game against Brookline under the lights. The Warriors took the seven-inning game, 6-1.

Robbie Stearns and Madden combined for four innings of one-run relief. Maloney prevented a shutout with an RBI double that scored Jack Burns.